A Georgia grandmother is charged with second-degree murder after her two pit bulls killed her 21-month-old grandson while she was babysitting.

Police in the northeast Georgia city of Hartwell said the boy was brutally mauledTuesday afternoon after the dogs escaped from the grandmother’s home on Highland Avenue.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a news release that 70-year-old Sandra Adams was outside with the child when she decided to enter her home where the dogs were being held. Investigators said the dogs rushed out the door to get to the toddler, knocking Ms. Adams to the ground in the process.

Ms. Adams tried to intervene, but it was too late. After finally getting the dogs under control, Ms. Adams took the child to his mother at another location and they both took him to Reddy Urgent Care in Hartwell, where he was pronounced dead, the GBI said.

Hartwell Police Chief Anthony Davis said the child had several bites and tears on his head and neck, a local CBS affiliate reported.

The GBI said Ms. Adams had been cited on “multiple occasions” under a city ordinance maintaining disorderly animals.

Ms. Adams is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to children and involuntary manslaughter. She was given $50,000 bond.

Authorities seized both of the pit bulls, which Ms. Adams consented to be euthanized, CBS reported.